Flooding hits Johnston community

January 25, 2019 12:56 am

By Jordan Mazza

JOHNSTON, RI (WLNE) — Shari Diraimo has lived on South Bennett Drive for 20 years — and she says every time it rains, she deals with significant flooding.

“We just want to be heard,” Diraimo said. “And we want results. Because this happens all the time. And I think sometimes that we take for granted what’s going on. And it’s more of a danger — people don’t realize how deep that water is.”

Diraimo says every time a car attempts to drive through the flooded area, it sends waves through her garage.

“I just want other people to be considerate too,” Diraimo said. “It’s our home. We don’t want anything bad to happen.”

Neighbor Erica Briggs can’t take her son to the bus.

“I’ve put my son on my back and he’s in fourth grade now, so that’s a big thing,” Briggs said. “He’s getting taller and taller. It’s one of those situations where it’s near impossible to bring him to the bus stop.”

And they’re concerned for other kids in their community.

“I watched two kids that live up the street walk through that water today to go home,” Diraimo said. “It killed me, because it was probably up to their waist.”